André Nocquet 8th Dan Aikido, 4th Dan Judo, was one of the pioneers of Budo in Europe. He was the first ever foreign uchi deshi of Morihei Ueshiba and the training partner of Tamura Nobuyoshi. This interview was conducted for the French radio station France Culture in 1988, following the publishing of Master André Nocquet's first book entitled "Morihei Ueshiba - Presence et Message". For the occasion, the journalist asked Nocquet about his experience in Japan, learning for almost three years as a live-in disciple of Morihei Ueshiba Sensei, and his subsequent work to develop Aikido in France and Europe. I have published here the full length audio interview with added subtitles in English, as well as a full transcript of the piece for your reading convenience.

I met Andre Nocquet in the early seventies on several occasions. During a 2-week seminar somewhere in France he spoke a lot about his book "Presence and Message" and eventually he readed out some parts of it. I remember it was rather difficult for a non native French speaker.
In the interview : "You were in Japan in the years 1955-1959 and this book is now out in 1988". I believe the book "Presence and Message" is published much earlier. His book Heart Sword I believe is published in 1988.